Police: La. mom killed Down syndrome son

BELLE CHASSE, La. — A Louisiana woman has been arrested on a charge of first-degree murder after police say she injected alcohol-based hand sanitizer into the feeding tube of her 17-month-old son, who had Down syndrome.

Twenty-year-old Erika Wigstrom was being held without bond after her arrest Tuesday. Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Commander Eric Becnel says she told police she wanted to end Lucas Ruiz’s suffering. NOLA.com The Times-Picayune reports that Wigstrom broke down in tears during an afternoon court appearance today.

Lucas died Jan. 24. Becnel said the child also had been poisoned with alcohol in October 2012 while hospitalized for treatment of a heart defect. Becnel says the child’s father, Cesar Ruiz, confessed in that instance, but that Wigstrom has now confessed to poisoning the child both times.